About Cancer
Bile duct cancer is also called cholangiocarcinoma. It is a rare cancer that starts in the bile ducts. The bile ducts are small tubes that connect the liver and gallbladder to the small bowel. They carry bile from your liver to your gallbladder. Bile helps you digest food.
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The bile ducts are part of the . They are tubes that carry bile from your liver, where it is made, to your gallbladder, where it is stored. Bile is a fluid that helps your body digest food.
When you eat, your gallbladder releases bile back into the bile ducts. It flows to the small bowel where it breaks down fat in the food you've eaten. This makes it easier for your body to use the food.
This video shows where the bile ducts are, what they do and the different areas where bile duct cancer can develop. The video is 1 minute and 30 seconds long.
There 2 main bile ducts in the liver. These are the:
right hepatic duct
left hepatic duct
They join together just outside the liver to make the common hepatic duct. Bile flows down this duct and into the cystic duct. This is connected to the gallbladder.
When we eat, bile is released from the gallbladder back into the cystic duct. It then flows down the common bile duct.
Before it gets to the small bowel, the common bile duct joins the pancreatic duct. This releases pancreatic juice which also breaks down food to make it easier to use.
Doctors divide bile duct cancer into 3 groups depending on where it starts:
intrahepatic bile duct cancers
perihilar bile duct cancers
distal bile duct cancers
Starts in the bile ducts inside the liver. It is a type of liver cancer.
Intrahepatic bile duct cancer is also called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Starts in the bile ducts just outside the liver, but before the cystic duct joins the common hepatic duct.
Perihilar bile duct cancer is also called a Klatskin tumour or hilar cancer.
Starts in the bile ducts below where the cystic duct joins the common hepatic duct.
In the UK, around 3,100 people are diagnosed with bile duct cancer each year.
The number of people getting bile duct cancer has increased in the last few years. Researchers don't know for sure what's causing the number to increase. Some studies suggest it might be related to lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking alcohol.
Bile duct cancer symptoms may include yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), itchy skin, dark urine and pale poo, high temperature and pain in your tummy (abdomen).
Factors that increase the risk of developing bile duct cancer include getting older and conditions that cause long term inflammation of the bile ducts.
If you have symptoms of bile duct cancer you should see your GP. They might ask you to have some tests and refer you to a specialist.
You might have a number of tests to check for bile duct cancer. This includes blood tests, scans and having a sample of tissue (biopsy) taken from your bile duct.
There are 3 main types of bile duct cancer. Intrahepatic bile duct cancer starts in the liver. Perihilar and distal bile duct cancers start in the bile ducts outside the liver.
The stage and grade of bile duct cancer help your doctor decide your treatment. They might use the number or TNM system, and the Bismuth-Corlette classification.
Advanced bile duct cancer has spread outside the bile ducts into nearby lymph nodes or organs. Or it has spread to parts of the body further away from the bile ducts.
Treatments for bile duct cancers include surgery, chemotherapy and treatments to control symptoms. The treatments you have depend on the stage of the cancer.
Researchers in the UK are currently looking for new ways to prevent and diagnose bile duct cancer. They are also looking at new treatments.
Last reviewed: 14 Oct 2024
Next review due: 14 Oct 2027
This section has been written, reviewed and updated by Cancer Research UK’s Patient Information Web Team. Thank you to the expert medical professionals and people affected by cancer who have helped to review this information.
Professor John Bridgewater (Consultant Oncologist)
Professor Brian Davidson (Consultant Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon)
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